Railway-gate



(No Model.)

E. L. EDMONDSON.

RAILWAY GATE.

110.419,144. Patented Jan. 7,1890.

N. PETERS, Pnnwumampxwf. washinmm.. D. c.

Unire States ATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN I.. EDMONDSON, OF STAUNTON, ASSIGNOR TO THE EDMONDSON RAIIVAY GATE COMPANY, OF RICHHOND, VIRGINIA.

RAILWAY-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,144, dated January 7, 1890.

Application filed March 30, 1889. Serial No. 305,345. (No model.)

To all whon it may concern.'

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. EDMoNDsoN, of Staunton, in the county of Augusta and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Gates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention-relates to an improvement in railwaygates, and more particularly to that peculiar class of railroad-gates known as rocking eattle'guard gatesg7 and the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts more fully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a railroad-track showing` the improved gate. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the pilot of a locomotive approaching the gate.

In the drawings, the referenccdetter a indicates a railroad-track. Cattle passing along streets or roads which cross a railroad-track or on division-lines of farms are very apt to Wander from the road up or down the railroad-track, and thereby endanger the lives of passengers and cause loss to the railroad company and the owner of the animal. These gates are intended to be placed on the track on each side of the crossing or division-line, and thereby close the way up or down the track. A suitable bed or frame Z1 is located beneath the track, and is provided with crosssills, upon which the rails longitudinally rest, and with end sills c c parallel with and outside of the rails, said sills being framed to a third pair of sills, which answer the purpose of cross-ties. A horizontal rock-shaft d .is mounted in the cross and end sills of the supporting bed or frame and extend transversly beneath and beyond the rails of the track. A series of pickets e are secured to and extend upwardly from the rock shaft, as clearly shown. These pickets are vertical and of a suitable height. The rock-shaft is journaled in such a manner that its center of gravity will be in a plane considerably below the axis upon which the shaft swings. rlhis is accomplished by casting or forming the shaft with inclined upper sides, as shown, or of any suitable shape, having the journals f near the top side of the shaft, and weights g longitudinally located on the under side of the shaft between the journals. This shaft and the weights are cast or formed integral, as shown, thereby greatly increasing the strength and durability of the device, as these parts of the device cannot become loose, separated, and injured by the constant shocks and jar caused by locomotives coming in contactwith the gate. At a point centrally between the rails the shaft is provided with a doublednclined block having surfaces 7L, said block being inclined upwardly and inwardly to receive the force of the locomotive pilot orV catcher, which catcher is preferably provided with an anti-friction roller 'i at its front extremity to operate the shaft by coming` in contact with one of said inclined sides of the block, thereby turning the shaft and lowering the pickets to allow the car or train to pass. After the passage of the train .the shaft, by means of its construction, automatically resumes its upright position. Trains running in either direction will operate the gate in the same manner Should the block become broken by the shock of the train, a new one can be put on, still preserving the shaft in its original position. One of thepickets having a collar near its top and screw-threaded at the bott-om will be suiiicient to hold the wedge-shaped block to the shaft. Thus the device is cheap in first cost, ready of repair, and is simple and made up of but few parts. A

The efficiency and durability of the device are greatly increased by the double-inclined block and the shaft arranged as shown. The block being secured to the shaft by one or more of the pickets and the shaft properly journaled,it is ready for use. A pair of blocks or stops 7' are located on the bed of the track or secured to the frame 11,011 opposite sides of the shaft, so that when this gate is swung into a horizontal position in either direction one of the surfaces of the block 7L will engage one of the stops y' located on that side of the shaft,

IOO

and thereby limit the downward swing of the gate. These stops each preferably have an inclined face to correspond to the inclined face of the block on that side. Snow, mud, or ice will not interfere with the working of the apparatus. Said blocks or stopsyl can be provided with buffers lo. Vertical slots may be made under the journals and springs inserted therein. Slots may'also be made at each side of the journal, in which springs may be inserted. These springs are for the purpose of taking up and providing for the recoil force of the shaft when the buffer-block is in contact with the pilot of the engine, and the vertical slots below the journals, in which springs may be placed, are for the purpose of permitting the gate to go downward should the train stop j ust over the gate and back, which would turn the gate in the opposite direction.

Any railroad hand can put this gate in po-v sition, and when there it will automatically operate itself.

Vhat I claim isl. A cattle-guard gate comprising a frame located on the track, a rock-shaft journaled in the same beneath the rails, a series of vertical pickets carried by the shaft, a block secured to the shaft and adapted to be engaged by a locomotive, stops upon opposite sides of the shaft to limit the downward movement of the gate, and one or more weight-s longitudinall y formed on. the lower side of the shaft, substantially as described.

2. A rocking railroad-gate consisting in the combination of a frame beneath the track, a counterbalanced rock-shaft transversely j ournaled in theframe, aseries of vertical pickets secured to and extending up from the shaft, and an oppositely-inclined block carried by one or more of the pickets and adapted to be engaged by a locomotive coming in either direction, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN L. EDMONDSON.

VVit-nesses:

O. E. DUFFY, C. M. WERLE. 

